First Time on a Podcast - Under the Tent

Under The Tent: Episode 2 - Scott Snell

Scott Snell is an avid ultra runner and is making his move in the backyard ultra scene. Scott has picked up wins at both the Run Ragged and Keystone Backyard Ultras. He is a father of three boys and has the added challenge of both balancing family time and time on the trails. You can follow Scott's blog "Beast Coast Trail Running" for more info and insight into his career.

I was more nervous than I probably should have been, but I guess that was no surprise since I'm not an extremely outgoing person in general. I'm usually not the one to start up a conversation with a stranger. Not that I don't want to talk to people, it’s just that I'm a bit introverted and initiating conversations feels especially difficult for me. The fact that this conversation I was about to have was going to be recorded and made public was kind of a scary thought to me. But I was going to be talking about running, mostly ultrarunning. So, I saw that as reward enough to make the uneasiness and anxiety I was feeling make the experience as a whole a worthwhile endeavor. This anxiety inducing running related experience was the opportunity to be a guest on a new running podcast.

The podcast title is “Under the Tent'' hosted by Brandon Fogarty who I met at the Keystone Backyard Ultra in May this year. My initial reaction was of excitement as it was the first time any podcast host had asked me to be a guest. I love running. I love writing and talking about running. My wife has heard more about ultras from me than she ever wanted to. So why wouldn’t I be excited about being asked to talk about ultrarunning with another runner? As the time to record got closer, I became more nervous and less excited. I worried I’d say something dumb or just stumble on my words too much. It mostly just felt like fear of judgment when you’re completely unsure how many people are going to listen to the conversation you’re about to have. I’m sure these were all pretty normal fears for almost all first-time podcast guests.

After chatting with Brandon for about an hour, we said goodbye and then I began to wonder how it went and how I sounded. I felt like it went pretty well immediately afterwards. I did honestly have fun chatting about the backyard race format and recounting a few stories of races I’ve run, but as time went on, I began to think of things I should have said. Other ways I should have answered certain questions. I’m guessing this is pretty normal for most podcast guests and hosts alike for that matter. I’m sure thoughts of everything from “I wish I would have followed up with this question instead” to “I should have mentioned that story from that race” to “Damn it! I should have credited that person and publicly thanked them!” are pretty standard fare for everyone following a podcast recording.

For me, I felt like my last example (Damn it! I should have credited that person and publicly thanked them!”) was my biggest flub. Who did I forget to thank? My wife of course. When Brandon asked about being a father of three and managing the responsibilities there with running and training for ultramarathons, I feel like I completely missed the mark on that question. I started talking about priorities and how as much as I love running, I still prioritize a quality family life over my running life. Which is true for me and I still stand by that, but in retrospect it was the perfect time to mention the primary reason I’m able to pursue my passion for running and chase my running goals is due to the sacrifices my wife makes to allow that to happen. It was the perfect time to credit her and thank her for her enormous and vital role in any running goals I reach. But I failed to do it at the time.

Now as I’m writing this and giving more thought to this podcast interview and the differences of the dialog format that I’m less comfortable with versus the written format that I’m accustomed to, I’m not surprised I have so many worries about whether what I said was good enough or how I could have improved the discussion. When I write race reports or more general blog posts I write, read it, read it again, rewrite, and reread and on and on until I am content with it. To me, it feels like there is more room to make errors and more opportunity to fix those errors with the written format than the recorded dialog. However, the recorded dialog can lead to discussions and topics that never would have percolated out if writing alone. So there truly is a beauty and set of unique benefits to both.

Given the circumstances, I’m happy I took the opportunity to be a guest on Brandon’s podcast. I still haven’t heard the recording yet at this point, but if nothing else the experience allowed me to have an hour-long chat with another runner all about ultrarunning. And maybe the most valuable lesson I learned as a result was that it reminded me to be grateful to my wife for making it possible for me to pursue my passion while maintaining a healthy family life with our kids at home. Additionally, it reminded me that I should let her know how thankful I am for that more often. So, with that final thought, here is what my answer should have been during the podcast:

I couldn’t do what I do without my saint of a wife, Amanda. Without her endless support my running achievements would not have been possible. She has encouraged me and pushed me to achieve more than I thought I was capable of on many occasions. She has helped me become a better version of myself than the self that I knew or thought I was destined to be. From helping me to carve time out of our busy family and work lives to generously applying lubricant to my severely chafed body parts, she has been one of my greatest blessings in my running life and beyond. Weekends that would have been just me getting away by myself for a race weekend became mini vacation family camping trips with Amanda caring for the kids while I’m out running overnight. Those types of trips mean excess stress and work on her end and extra special aid station support and finish line moments for me when my entire family is waiting there for me.

We have a friend who says that Amanda is “too nice for this world”. I couldn’t agree more. I know it’s meant as a compliment, but I could understand how if taken from a different perspective it could sound like someone pointing out a flaw. Although, at least in my opinion, if a person’s greatest shortcoming is being too nice for this world then it is the world that is at fault, not the person. It’s not that Amanda is too nice for this world; it’s that this world isn’t nice enough for her.

Scott Snell

July 31, 2021

2021 Goals Status Check: Big's or bust

It’s July and we’re past the midpoint of 2021. We’ve just been informed via our social media feeds that the moon is wobbling and that it will cause more extreme and more frequent coastal flooding in the year 2030, but other than that 2021 is going relatively well. I’ve already checked two boxes on my running goals list for this year and they were the two targets that I most wanted to complete successfully. Those two goals were (1) to test myself and see what I am capable of at a 24 hour timed event and (2) to PR my greatest distance run. Two remaining goals are more measures of progress on a long term project (run every single street of Egg Harbor Township) and overall fitness (12 minute aerobic fitness test). The final goal (FKT attempt) was and is still more dependent on what race opportunities present themselves and what kind of crew support I can manage to wrangle together.

I’m pretty happy and proud of having already accomplished my primary running goals this year. Overall, my 24 hour race (Adventure Trail Run) went really well. I didn’t hit my goal of setting a new course record, but I did go home with a first place overall finish with about 103 miles. Taking another crack at it next year is something I’m definitely considering. I PR’d my greatest distance ever run at the inaugural Keystone Backyard Ultra with about 129 miles. My previous longest was 106 miles. This was the kind of mileage increase I was hoping to do last year when I only bettered my longest distance by about 2 miles.

My long term project of running Every Single Street of Egg Harbor Township just hasn’t appealed to me much recently. Lately, every time I intend to do a long run to make some progress on it, I get as far as looking at my progress map and then just deciding I would rather do my long run on trails instead of what I know are busy roads. Maybe I’ll go back to it at some point, but for now that project is more or less in a holding pattern.

I’ll definitely complete my attempt at the 12 minute aerobic fitness test. After all, it only takes 12 minutes. I wish I would have done one earlier in the year so I could do it a couple more times throughout the year to see if I’m making progress or regressing. Maybe that will be a goal for next year.

With my top goals completed and my other goals not requiring a great deal of time, the question of what to do for the rest of the year arises. I think I have the answer, which is to work towards my more long term goal of running at Big’s Backyard in Tennessee. In order to do that, I basically have to build my long distance running resume by running backyard races. So that is my plan for the remainder of the year: find a backyard race that works with my schedule and train hard to go as far as I can there. And that’s it. To sum up my current major running goal is as simple as the the words: "Big's or bust".


Scott Snell
July 19, 2021